Match in the balance after see-saw day

Victoria 271 and 4 for 86 need another 98 runs to beat Western Australia 142 and 312 (M Hussey 86, Marsh 69*, Rogers 66, Moss 4-92)
Scorecard

Brett Dorey's late wickets gave Western Australia hope © Getty Images

Victoria closed the third day of their game against Western Australia at the WACA just about in the box seat, but the result of this Pura Cup match could still go either way. Set a target of 184, Victoria reached 4 for 86 at stumps, still 98 short of victory.

Western Australia resumed in control on 0 for 136, but after a solid start as Mike Hussey (86) and Chris Rogers (66) took their opening stand to 155, they lost their last ten wickets for 157 inside two sessions. Rogers' dismissal - caught behind by Adam Crosthwaite off Jon Moss - started the slide, and on a good pitch, Victoria's bowlers, led by Moss with 4 for 92, did superbly to dismiss the Warriors. Only a determined 69 not out from Shaun Marsh enabled them to score enough runs to set a challenging target.

"At 0 for 130 there was a big job ahead of us and they got a pretty good start this morning," Moss said. "So we're very pleased to fight back the way we did and bowl them out before tea."

But Western Australia battled back in the final session, taking four wickets, including two important late strikes from Brett Dorey after Victoria had seemed to be cruising at 2 for 79. "We're in a pretty good position," Moss told reporters. "We've still got six wickets in the shed and less than a hundred to score and one of the wickets to fall was a nightwatchman. We've still got some good batsmen and we'll be looking to be positive in the morning."